I'll Still be Loving You
by xclorithx
Summary: Cloud Strife had never seen true beauty until he met her. I suck at summaries, CloudxAerith rated T to be safe in later chapters


This is my first fic so please bear with me if it's not good  I've never written for fanfiction before, so please tell me if I could improve.

These are a few chapters about Cloud and Aerith's relationship from square one (Aerith, Aeris, they mean the same person but I'll be using Aerith in the fic) so it's set it the world of the game, mainly. Oh, and I've written this so that the first time Cloud and Aerith meet is when he falls through the church roof rather than when he sees her selling flowers in the slums. And of course the dialogue isn't the same. Contains game spoilers.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII or the entire FF franchise for that matter, and although it would be really cool and I wish I did, it is all the work of genius Hironobu Sakaguchi. Oh yeah, and the title of this fic is inspired lyrics from 'Taken' by Plumb, so that's not mine either.

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Chapter One – A smile filled with hope

The day that Cloud Strife fell from Shinra's Mako reactor, he was convinced he was falling to his death. He didn't anticipate that his life would change in that one glance, that one look in her direction that made him notice that life was worth living.

Its amazing how one person – just one other soul can make such an impact on someone's life, and this referred to Cloud in such a big way. After all, at least now he had someone to live for, someone that he wanted to protect no matter what.

For a while.

The last thing Cloud saw before he hit the ground was Tifa's sobbing face as Barret pulled her away from the exploding Shinra reactor. Cloud almost smiled at the sight (damn Shinra had done nothing but ruin him, it was good enough to know that he had helped destroy one of their energy-sucking reactors). His first thought was for Tifa. What was she going to do? They had known each other since childhood – how would she react to her best friend's death? Cloud didn't want to think about it. He hated himself enough for letting her love him – letting her carry on thinking that maybe he wanted to be with her too. Cloud hated himself for letting her believe. He did love her, but it was a completely different kind of love, any romantic relationship would crack the bond they had had for so many years as friends. But still Cloud continued, seeing himself as a coward for not telling her the truth about how he felt.

Before he fell unconscious, Cloud's last thoughts were for Tifa.

And then he hit the floor of that little flower-filled church.

Cloud was shocked to realise that he was still alive. He couldn't open his eyes yet, but he knew he was alive – this wasn't some kind of last-living-moments experience.

Cloud could tell he was alive because of the pain. And although the pain was a relieving conformation of his life, it didn't help the fact that his body ached. He could move at all – let alone stand up. He _had _fallen around thirty feet-ish, this was pretty much a miracle.

But still, his main concern (Tifa) still believed him to be dead, and what if he never found her again? What if?...

"_Oh, come on, please wake up!"_

This was when Cloud began to wonder whether or not he _was_ in heaven. There was the softest, most gentle voice Cloud had ever heard in his life. It was beautiful and reassuring, but this could be nothing but an angel, could it?

"_Please, please don't be dead; oh this is bad, who are you?"_

The angel sounded stressed, almost worried. Her voice seemed almost too silky to carry such stressful words.

Cloud couldn't have been in heaven if the angel was begging him to wake up, could he? But how could this voice come from a human being? It seemed impossible.

After a few minutes, Cloud brought himself to open his eyes. He was desperate to hear the voice of this angel, whether he was dead or alive.

She was more beautiful than he had imagined.

The light seemed to radiate from her pale complexion, framing her features, like her perfect cupid bows lips and…

Her eyes. This angel's eyes… were such a shocking shade of emerald green with the slightest hint of crystal blue that they nearly sent Cloud unconscious again. Purely stunning. He could've got lost in those eyes for hours and still not get bored of looking into them. Her hair was a beautiful glossy shade of chestnut, tied in a cute plait.

Cloud had never been in love before. All he knew was that looking into the eyes of this angel made him feel happy for once, and all he wanted to do was protect this angel. He didn't even know her name yet, but subconsciously - he already loved her - although he would never admit it to himself.

"You're awake!" The angel cried, placing her arm around his shoulder "Please, let me help you up,"

The angel's cold touched surprised Cloud so much that he was close to falling over again, but he managed to get back to his feet. The aching seemed to have stopped when he saw her.

He was suddenly aware of his surroundings.

The church was small and pleasant, with a growth of flowers around him. The different scents were over powering and sweet, and the angel smelled faintly like freshly grown grass and soft orchid.

"I'm… err; sorry I… fell onto your flowers and…" Cloud stuttered. "…broke your roof,"

The angel smiled. And that was the single most beautiful sight Cloud had ever seen. Her smile was so warm, so gentle… for some reason it filled Cloud with hope, and he didn't doubt that it had the same effect on others. Cloud wasn't used to feeling this amazed, this happy.

She laughed the sweetest giggle.

"That's okay; this place is falling apart anyway. I can always plant more flowers; I have enough to sell right now… I'm Aerith Gainsborough, by the way,"

Aerith… Gainsborough. Even her name seemed beautiful.

"Cloud Strife… I'm from Sector Seven,"

Aerith turned away and played with her hair.

"Sector Seven? I live around here, I know my way through Sector Six. I could help you get back if you want,"

Cloud didn't know what to do. He wanted to do what ever it took to protect her, but at the same time he wanted to spend time with her.

He was still shocked that this beautiful girl could live in a place like the slums. It was stupid of Cloud to be so protective; he was more in danger than she was, seeing as Shinra were after him. She at least knew the area.

Well, he _thought_ Shinra were after _him._

"Isn't it dangerous out there? I couldn't put a girl I just met in danger, could I?"

Aerith turned again and laughed.

"Are you serious? I live in the slums; there are much more dangerous places than Sector Six that I walk by every day," she walked right up close to him. Her smile was even more astounding closer up. "I'll tell you what, if it makes you feel any more at ease, will you be my body guard? In return I'll give you one date,"

Cloud smiled. It had been a while since he had managed to smile. This beautiful young girl was asking him to be her bodyguard. For once in Cloud's life, someone was willing to be protected by him, even though he had made so many mistakes. Cloud had lost most of his self esteem five years ago in Nibelheim, when he had let his entire hometown be destroyed. His family, his friends, Tifa's father… he hadn't managed to save our protect any of those things. Cloud had watched his house fall to the ground, his childhood memories lost in a blaze of torment and regret. He hadn't even managed to stop Tifa from being injured – she nearly died that night. And now he was being trusted again, and this time Cloud knew that he would give his life to protect Aerith Gainsborough. This was what he wanted to protect, and nothing would change that.

"Fine," Cloud replied, feeling confident that he would look after her no matter what – and of course, secretly looking forward to that date.

He had no idea that she would end up being _his _guardian angel.

Aerith laughed again, before kneeling down to tend to her flowers. Something changed then. Her eyes seemed to become sad, her smile faded. She looked sorrowful and fragile.

"Cloud Strife… there are other things you don't know about me…"

Cloud froze. He didn't like seeing Aerith upset, even if he didn't know why. He was meant to be her bodyguard, but he felt like more than that. He wanted to make her happy, too.

"Aerith…"

Aerith immediately got up dusting off her simple pink dress and smiling widely – although Cloud knew the smile was fake.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter. You'll protect me whatever you found out I am, right?" she asked, smiling widely. Cloud didn't need to answer. Aerith smile changed again; to a concerned look now.

Cloud heard the door of the church fling open and he turned around swiftly. "Oh, it's them again…"

Cloud pulled out the buster sword from its sheath and stood in front of Aerith.

"You brought friends this time, Cetra?" the man with red hair asked.

Cloud didn't let his guard down. He knew this man was from the Turks.

"Aerith! Are you okay?" Cloud asked frantically as he helped Aerith stand. They had managed to climb onto the roof of the church.

More Shinra SOLDIER's had been sent after they had managed to run from Reno. Cloud had made sure Aerith was safe, even if he didn't know why they were after her. She was mysterious from the first moment he saw her, but he was concerned.

"I'm fine, bodyguard," she replied. "Thanks for that, by the way. The last time I had barely escaped from them,"

Cloud stared at her, and had to stuff himself from grabbing her hand.

"They've came after you before?"

She nodded.

"They have their reasons. Shouldn't we get back now? If I'm honest, you should come to my house first. It's not far; we can get some rest before we set out for Sector Seven. Mom won't mind,"

Cloud sighed. He didn't want to go into it now, she obviously felt uncomfortable about it. Cloud didn't doubt she would tell him eventually.

But he couldn't help ponder the things that Reno and the SOLDIER's had said.

"_You brought friends this time, Cetra?"_

"_Just capture the ancient; you can kill the guy,"_

"_The girl is important! Don't let her get away!"_

What did Shinra want with Aerith?

But Cloud couldn't really ask right then. She was content and on the way home, that was all that mattered.

That right then he had kept her safe.

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Well, that's my first chapter of my first fic, done. I've always loved CloudxAerith, they're such a great cannon pairing! Make sure you review, I'd really appreciate it.


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